2 reviews
This is NOT Sofia Coppola's movie, but a different made-for-TV docudrama. It covers Marie-Antoinette's entire lifespan in France, from age 15 to her death, describing also how people reacted to her (collectively as well as individually) and why. It feels cold and objective like a newsreport, and dramatic intensity is set aside for all but the last few minutes.
Technically, this movie was produced on a shoestring. It is one of the first full-length features, if not *the* first, to be shot entirely in limbo ("green screen" as for the weather forecasts on TV).
The actors were filmed in a Montreal studio with whatever props were needed, while the backdrops were photographed (or when necessary, filmed) in the real Versailles Palace, and electronically (and faultlessly) added in later.
This was necessary as the French authorities would not have allowed the Palace to be turned over (once more?) to film crews for over a month, and probably damaged in the process; but it also whittled the budget down to a minimum.
The Director was Yves Simoneau, a very experienced Quebec filmmaker who now works out of Hollywood, and yet he saw the need for a co-director due to the complexity of the job.
The end result is excellent. I haven't detected a single flaw such as jitters, problems with angles, perspective or lighting, or panning incoherences between the players and the backdrop. I would not in a million years have guessed that the movie had not been shot on location.
Students of the cinema should study this historic production very carefully as (in combination with advances in computer imagery) it probably foreshadows the end of hugely expensive studio sets.
As for the content - I found it similar to an illustrated lecture in history - mildly interesting but nothing to write home (or IMDb) about.
Technically, this movie was produced on a shoestring. It is one of the first full-length features, if not *the* first, to be shot entirely in limbo ("green screen" as for the weather forecasts on TV).
The actors were filmed in a Montreal studio with whatever props were needed, while the backdrops were photographed (or when necessary, filmed) in the real Versailles Palace, and electronically (and faultlessly) added in later.
This was necessary as the French authorities would not have allowed the Palace to be turned over (once more?) to film crews for over a month, and probably damaged in the process; but it also whittled the budget down to a minimum.
The Director was Yves Simoneau, a very experienced Quebec filmmaker who now works out of Hollywood, and yet he saw the need for a co-director due to the complexity of the job.
The end result is excellent. I haven't detected a single flaw such as jitters, problems with angles, perspective or lighting, or panning incoherences between the players and the backdrop. I would not in a million years have guessed that the movie had not been shot on location.
Students of the cinema should study this historic production very carefully as (in combination with advances in computer imagery) it probably foreshadows the end of hugely expensive studio sets.
As for the content - I found it similar to an illustrated lecture in history - mildly interesting but nothing to write home (or IMDb) about.
I finally got from amazon.fr the French DVD of this Canadian production with Marie Antoinette expert Chantal Thomas as historical consultant.
It is technically quite stunning when you think that ALL scenes are virtually recreated: just the actors and a few pieces of furniture are real. It really seems shot on location.
As a movie (a docu-fiction?) it is far too sketchy and superficial (just a succession of key moments in Marie Antoinette's life commented by a voice-over with a few dialog by the actors) to be absorbing. The acting is overall competent with Canadian actress Karine Vanasse really quite appreciable as the queen (her final reading of the testament letter is moving).
No Austrian childhood is shown: the movie starts just before the queen leaves her prison for the scaffold and starts remembering her first arrival in Versailles.
The film is historically quite valid (facts and period costume design are respected), even though Marie Antoinette is described as being a little too "tête à vents" even in her mature years. I also found one big historical error: Marie Antoinette is shown in the Conciergerie with both her children (the dauphin is taken from her in the Conciergerie) while it is universally known that she left the Temple prison for the Conciergerie alone.
It is technically quite stunning when you think that ALL scenes are virtually recreated: just the actors and a few pieces of furniture are real. It really seems shot on location.
As a movie (a docu-fiction?) it is far too sketchy and superficial (just a succession of key moments in Marie Antoinette's life commented by a voice-over with a few dialog by the actors) to be absorbing. The acting is overall competent with Canadian actress Karine Vanasse really quite appreciable as the queen (her final reading of the testament letter is moving).
No Austrian childhood is shown: the movie starts just before the queen leaves her prison for the scaffold and starts remembering her first arrival in Versailles.
The film is historically quite valid (facts and period costume design are respected), even though Marie Antoinette is described as being a little too "tête à vents" even in her mature years. I also found one big historical error: Marie Antoinette is shown in the Conciergerie with both her children (the dauphin is taken from her in the Conciergerie) while it is universally known that she left the Temple prison for the Conciergerie alone.